The Law of the Farm“We reap what we sow...Always.”

The Sun:The sun provides the energy that heats the soil to germinate the seed. Light energy results in photosynthesis that changes minerals into food for the plant. Without sunlight green plants cannot make food. Organization Application:It’s the energy, enthusiasm and encouragement (3E’s) from the team that stimulate growth and the quality of service.

The Air:The air plays a key role in photosynthesis where minerals are converted into food and carbon-dioxide into oxygen. The air is key to pollination. Organization Application:It’s the products and services provided to the customers. This is the, “Why the customer came.”

The Water:The water carries the nutrients from the soil throughout the plant. Organizational Application:It’s the team that delivers the products and services to the customers.

The Seed:The Star of the Show. The seed can only become a plant when it unites with Sun, Air, Water and Soil. Until that happens, the seed will remain just a seed.Organizational Application:It’s the Mission. It’s Always the MISSION.

The Soil:Where the “raw” nutrients are found that become food for the plant. The soil also provides structure to support the roots and the plant. Soil is composed of many minerals and compounds. The combination of these minerals and compounds will determine if and what plants it will support. This combination is called the pH. Organizational Application:The soil represents the culture of the organization. The culture is how things are done. It’s how people relate, communicate, follow through…it’s the unspoken operating system of the organization. We call it the DOC (Dominate Operating Culture) of the organization. Like the soil, most of how it operates is not seen but will determine the health and results.

Test The pH of the Soil

The pH balance of the soil will determine how or if the plant can absorb the nutrients and minerals from the soil. The soil could contain all of the 17 essential plant nutrients and the plant could starve to death because of a poor pH.

Organizational Application:

The organization could have highly paid personnel, expensive buildings and all of today’s technology and be dysfunctional because of a poor DOC.

Organizational ApplicationFear and intimidation, drama, distrust, dysfunctional teams seem to dominate the day. Phrases such as “My way or the highway”, “Not my job”, “What do I get for it” are common. Leaders are in a never ending process for creating new rules and policy.

Organizational ApplicationEverybody does their own thing. Missed deadlines are common. Quality standards are talked about but never achieved. People’s feelings are paramount. Phrases such as, “I didn’t have time”, “Sorry about that”, “Oh well”, I knew it was wrong but I didn’t want to hurt their feelings” are common. No one knows of follows written policy or plans.

DOC Test Questions: 1. How many smiling faces did you encounter at work?2. How many people greet each other as the pass?3. What is the drama level?4. What is the subject & tone of conversations?5. Is there a willingness to do more?6. What is the health of relationships?7. Is negativity underground & avoided?8. How often do you truly listen to the complete conversation?9. When there is a problem, what is the dominate response: blame, explain or fix?10. Do people follow the leadership because of position or influence?11. Would the employees and customers say you walk the talk?12. Do you find yourself complaining & finding fault?13. Do you follow the organizations mission statement in your decisions and actions?14. Do you trust each other? 15. Is accountability a dominate part of how you operate?16. Do you experience high turn-over of employees and/or customers?17. Are you growing?18. Do you enjoy what you are doing?